Camerapedia
Register
Advertisement
Japanese Baby (3×4) and Four (4×4) (edit)
folding
3×4 Baby Balnet | Doris | Baby Doris | Baby Germa | Kinsi | Baby Leotax | Loren | Baby Lyra | Baby Pearl | Baby Pilot | Baby Rosen | Baby Suzuka | Walz
4×4 Adler Four | Rosen Four
rigid or collapsible
3×4 Baika | Baby Chrome | Comet | Cyclon | Gelto | Baby Germa | Gokoku | Hamond | Baby Hawk | Kinka Lucky | Lausar | Light | Baby Light | Molby | Mulber | Olympic | Baby Ōso | Peacock | Picny | Ricohl | Rorox | Shinko Baby | Slick | Baby Sport | Tsubasa Arawashi | Baby Uirus | Zessan
3.5×4 Kenko 35
4×4 Alma Four | Andes Four | Anny 44 | Arsen | Balnet Four | Bonny Four | Freude | Kalimar 44 | Auto Keef | Kraft | Letix | Mykey-4 | Olympic Four | Roico | Royal Senior | Seica | Terra Junior | Vero Four | Welmy 44 | Yashica Future 127
unknown
Baby First | Baby Lyra Flex
Japanese SLR, TLR, pseudo TLR and stereo models ->
Japanese 4×5 and 4×6.5, 4.5×6, 6×6 and 6×9 ->

The Mykey-4 is a rigid viewfinder camera taking 4×4cm exposures on 127 film. It was probably made in Japan around 1960, during the short-lived fashion for the 4×4cm format, which produced "superslides".

Description[]

The Mykey-4 has a body made of pressed steel.[1] It is covered with clear-coloured leatherette, and the top and bottom plates are in a dark colour.[2] The top housing has a hump in the middle, containing the viewfinder, with an accessory shoe above. The accessory shoe has a logo, but the sources disagree on whether it reads "TSK" or "STK".[3]

The advance knob is at the left end, as seen by the photographer, and the release button is at its usual location on the right. The back is hinged to the right and certainly contains a red window to control the film advance. The name Mykey–4 is inscribed on a small nameplate attached to the front of the top housing, in front of the advance knob.

The lens and shutter assembly is attached to a fixed cylindrical barrel. The lens is a Tokinon 60mm f/3.5; the shutter has no visible name and gives B, 25–300 speeds.

Manufacturer[]

The manufacturer of the Mykey-4 is unknown, and no original document mentioning this camera has yet been found.

The Tokinon lens name indicates that the camera was made in Japan (or conceivably that it was made to appear Japanese). This name is known to appear on the Pentaflex 35mm SLR made by Tokiwa Seiki around 1955. (Tokinon might bring to mind the current brand name Tokina, but this is surely mere coincidence.)

The "TSK" or "STK" logo plausibly corresponds to a Japanese company name. The acronym TSK was used in the 1950s by the company Tōyō Seiki Kōgaku; here it might stand for Tokiwa Seiki instead. The acronym STK is otherwise unknown.

Notes[]

  1. Zaisu Ikon, p.3 of Camera Collectors' News no.230.
  2. The available pictures in Zaisu Ikon, p.3 of Camera Collectors' News no.230, and in McKeown, p.705, are in black and white only.
  3. "STK": Zaisu Ikon, p.3 of Camera Collectors' News no.230. "TSK": McKeown, p.705.

Bibliography[]

Advertisement